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Binding Arbitration S&M Gals Dig In Their Heels With Union Bid by Rebecca Rosenberg The New York Post (NY) October 6, 2008

New York's dominatrixes have been getting spanked by the economy recently - and now, they're lashing back.

Already reeling from a series of local prostitution raids, dommes have also had to grapple with disobedient clients who can't afford to pay for their punishments.

To address the double-whammy hitting their industry, many of them want to form a political-action committee and union to represent their interests.

"It's never been worse. Business is down 70 percent," said Mistress Johanna, owner of Chelsea's Le Salon DeSade. "We've had all these busts, and now the economy is out of control. The uncertainty is torturing us."

On Thursday, 10 dominatrixes at DeSade were dressed to the hilt - in red corsets, latex minis and thigh-high boots - with no one to flog.

On what used to be one of the house's busiest nights, only two customers came in, and the phone barely rang. The few clients who still trickle in have scaled back their sessions.

Most houses on Dungeon Alley, the cluster of S&M clubs in Midtown, complain of similar woes.

Mistresses say the economic downturn and recent spat of busts - namely of Rapture NYC, Rebecca's Hidden Chamber and Avalon - has created an atmosphere of fear and panic.

More than a dozen dominatrixes and dungeon owners have retained John Campbell, partner of the Tilem and Campbell law firm.

"This isn't like the escort industry, where there's a lot of illegality and everyone knows it," said Campbell, who also represents escort agencies. "In the BDSM [bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism] industry, virtually everyone was operating under the belief that what they were doing was legal."

'The Lifestyle' -- The world or couples who swing by Matt Soergel The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL) October 4, 2008

When Janet and her husband started swinging seven years, they had rules governing the various permutations of what they would do, and with whom.

"I had so many rules when we started off," says Janet, sitting in the courtyard of a San Marco nightclub with several swinging friends. "But now, seven years later, it's like, whatever."

One thing though: There will be no cheating. Sure, her husband travels a lot on business, and she's given him permission to have sex with other women while he's away. Just tell her about it, she says.

Don't keep it a secret. That would be cheating.

He's lived up to his word: One time, on a trip, he called Janet on the telephone after he'd been with another woman. He sounded a little bummed, Janet remembers. "He even said, 'It wasn't as much fun without you.' "

It wasn't as much fun without you.

That, say some swingers, is key to understanding what they call "the lifestyle." Swinging is a couple's thing, they say. It won't save a bad or sexless marriage. But it does spice up their marriages, allow them to explore their sexuality, and keep their emotions open, they say - without cheating on their spouses. After all, their spouses are in on the game.

It's true, says Stacy, a personal trainer who makes it clear that she likes to swing. Just so long as it's with her husband, William, who works for a supermarket chain.

DUNCANVILLE, Texas - Police have again arrested the owners of a suburban Dallas swingers club called "The Cherry Pit."

Jim Trulock, 59, and Julie M. Norris, 30, who host swingers' parties at their home, were arrested on suspicion of engaging in organized criminal activity, The Dallas Morning News reported in its Saturday editions. The first-degree felony carries a penalty from five to 99 years or life in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Trulock was taken into custody late Thursday, and Norris was arrested Friday.

The attorney for Trulock and Norris, Ed Klein, said Saturday that the two continue to maintain their innocence. Klein said that the two were released from jail on $20,000 bond each. He said Trulock was released late Thursday or early Friday and Norris was released Friday.

Officials in the Dallas suburb are trying to halt parties at the home. Last year, the City Council passed an ordinance banning sexually oriented businesses.

City officials say patrons are asked to donate money to get into the parties, which qualifies it as a business.

Trulock and Norris have a Duncanville municipal trial date set for Oct. 27 on several citations issued for violating the ordinance. They also have a civil case pending against the city challenging the ordinance.

The two were arrested last month on suspicion of violating the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code for allegedly possessing large amounts of liquor in their home.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A St. Paul man was charged with second-degree murder Thursday in the bleeding death of a woman early Tuesday in what he claims was a sex act gone wrong.

Gabriel Patricia Romo, 31, was found dead early Tuesday after losing a large amount of blood.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. They said Romo bled to death from traumatic injuries to the pelvic and abdominal cavity due to sexual assault.

Michael Carrasco Sontoya, 31, was charged in the death and faces up to 40 years in prison, if convicted.

According to the criminal complaint, Sontoya and Romo had been drinking at Fernbs Bar in St. Paul before going to his house between 1:30 and 2 a.m., where they had consensual sex in the bed.

Sontoya called 911 around 7 a.m. when he found Romo unconscious. Police and paramedics were called to the home, on the 700 block of Robert Street, where they found the single mother of four, surrounded by blood smears and spatters.

Police also saw what looked like a piece of human or animal flesh on the floor near the bathroom.

Sontoya told police he may have torn Romobs vaginal walls when they were having sex, but officers thought it was suspicious that Romobs underwear and inner thighs were not bloody, like they would have been if she were bleeding profusely from her vagina.

According to the charges, Romo was lying on her back on the carpet, wearing only underpants, two socks and one shoe. Police saw handprints on the wall and smears of blood on the bathroom floor. Blood on the walls and in the hallway led police to cleaning supplies in the kitchen sink, including a wet sponge and bucket.

After he was arrested, Sontoya told police he and Romo left Fernbs Bar, came home and undressed each other. He said he put two fingers in Romobs vagina, then inserted his fist to the furthest point up his hand.

Sontoya said they had about 1 1/2 hours of anal and vaginal sex, then they got up and saw a large amount of blood. He said he cleaned himself off in the bathroom while Romo cleaned up her vomit on the floor.

Sontoya then said the two went to sleep before we woke up, realized the situation, called his brother and called 911. Sontoyabs brother is a Ramsey County deputy, who advised him to call police.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The 25th Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco drew hundreds of thousands of leather, bondage and sexual fetish enthusiasts to the 13-block neighborhood.

The celebration Sunday included spanking booths, nude vendors and a man dressed only in an 11-foot Burmese python, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

"It brings kink out of the closet," said Al Waddell, 58, one of more then 250 vendors at the festival. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with kinky play as long as it's between consenting adults."

However, about 10 protesters gathered outside the event disagreed. They distributed brochures describing homosexuality as a "disorder" and encouraged passersby to vote in favor of Proposition 8, which would overturn a California Supreme Court ruling that a ban on same-sex marriage violated the state constitution.

"If you go in there, you see public nudity and street orgies," said Anthony Gonzales of San Jose, the president of the St. Joseph's Men's Society, a Roman Catholic fraternal group. "We want to know why this is allowed on the streets of San Francisco without any sanction at all ... it's anarchy."

They held the world's biggest celebration of leather, bondage and sexual fetish in San Francisco on Sunday, and due to the event's interactive nature, many people are now walking gingerly.

"Enough is enough," said Lowell Clark, pulling up his blue jeans after emerging from one of dozens of spanking booths at the 25th Folsom Street Fair.

Clark, a 30-year-old San Francisco waiter, conceded he was a novice at the booths, where men and women in search of stimulation were struck with whips, paddles or bare hands. Clark was last spanked at the age of 6 at the hands of his mother in Oklahoma. A stolen pack of chewing gum was involved.

"I still don't think I'll steal anything," Clark said. Still, he called the spanking a "stinging pleasure" that he would try "maybe once a year."

It was just another scene from the city's most unabashed bash - a public display of all things kinky that covered 13 blocks in the South of Market neighborhood and drew hundreds of thousands of people, many of them not wearing leather in key places.

There were naked people selling bondage gear and naked people seeking support for measures on the Nov. 4 ballot. There were naked people with cameras, taking pictures of other naked people.

One man wore only an 11-foot Burmese albino python, which curled around his waist. The arrangement seemed risky.

The fair is fun but also important, said Al Waddell, a 58-year-old entrepreneur from Oregon whose Paddle Daddy flogging implements were available in mahogany, hickory and walnut.

"It brings kink out of the closet," he said as he tried to coax visitors a step further - onto his $645 leather sex sling, complete with metal frame and stirrups. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with kinky play as long as it's between consenting adults."

A group of about 10 protesters standing outside the fair didn't agree with Paddle Daddy. They passed out brochures that called homosexuality a "disorder" and urged voters to pass Proposition 8, which would prohibit same-sex marriage in California.

"If you go in there, you see public nudity and street orgies," said Anthony Gonzales of San Jose, the president of the St. Joseph's Men's Society, a Roman Catholic fraternal group. "We want to know why this is allowed on the streets of San Francisco without any sanction at all. ... It's anarchy."

Inside the partitions, bands played on two stages and people drank beer and margaritas. The many gawkers at the event were easy to spot: they were fully clothed, clung to the sidewalks of Folsom Street, and often stared with mouths agape.

"It's great we live in a country where you can do this," tourist Brian Churchwell, 34, of Seattle said as a topless woman was tied up and then suspended by ropes on a raised platform.

More than 250 vendors sold whips and chains, tattoos and piercings, artwork, pornography, leather-scented soaps and oils, and products for those drawn to "bears" - men who tend to be, among other things, large and hairy. One booth offered "Free spankings for the religious right."

As a little boy, when Barry Fiddick would see a dead doggie on the side of the road, it felt like he lost a family member. Squirrel or cat road kill? Not so much.

Whenever he'd meet a dog, he wouldn't just stoop over and pet its head. Fiddick would crouch down to wrestle with a furry canine - like a playful pup.

It wasn't until he was an adult, circa 1992, that he really got into the puppy headspace and was "collared" for the first time. From there, it's a world of leashes, growling, fire hydrants and even a leather-stitched hood that looks like a doggie mask with ears and a muzzle.

A proud member of the leather community, Fiddick presents "Pup 101", a Saturday morning workshop at the International Puppy & Trainer Conference which will be held in conjunction at this weekend's Beyond Vanilla conference, a BDSM social weekend.

Fiddick explains that puppy play isn't really that sexual. Now some canines are into "breeding sessions", but that's usually geared for dogs, who are generally more mature, might not have as much energy as a puppy and are typically less playful.

"And in no way do we condone anything remotely related to bestiality", he says.

There are service dogs and security dogs, too. Security dogs protect their master, or "Sir".

But most dogs just want to be petted and loved.

Of course, all this canine nonsense sounds silly.

It's meant to be lighthearted. You shouldn't be afraid to laugh at my workshop because it's funny to see grown adults walking around on all fours growling. You can't help but laugh", Fiddick says.

When it comes to BDSM porn peddlers Kink.com, apparently size does matter. At least, that's how it seems now that the steamy studio has purchased the 200,000-square-foot San Francisco Armory. Suddenly, everyone wants to know: What's the carnal concern going to do with all that space?

The answers are more diverse and ambitious than one might expect b ranging from creating a racy reality show to starting a perfectly PG-13 public community center. And thanks to the lascivious and lucrative imagination of Kink.com founder Peter Acworth, it might all be possible.

Though Kink.com has been producing independent niche fetish sites like Hogtied.com, WiredPussy.com, and FuckingMachines.com for the Folsom Street Fair crowd for more than 10 years b first from Acworth's rented Marina District apartment and then from the Porn Palace on Fifth and Mission streets b it wasn't until Acworth purchased the historical landmark in the Mission District, and was met with opposition, that the provocative porn empire really made it onto the public's radar screen.

The armory, which was a training ground for the National Guard prior to its decommissioning 30 years ago, has been the center of controversy before. But that was mostly in-fighting between potential developers. Stringent zoning requirements and necessary but cost-prohibitive renovations discouraged buyers, leaving the Moorish behemoth on 14th and Mission streets vacant and outside public scrutiny.

But everything changed when Acworth got involved. His intended commercial use, for shooting scenes for all of Kink's Web sites, complied with planning codes. And he didn't need to do expensive renovations before he could start using, and profiting from, the building: what could be more perfect for bondage shoots or movies about women fucking machines than dungeons in disrepair? The only thing more ideal than the structure itself, according to Acworth, was its location in the heart of America's most fetish-friendly city. "You couldn't have dreamt up a more perfect place than a castle in the middle of San Francisco," says Acworth, who purchased the armory for $14.5 million in 2007 and started operations in January of this year. "It's like divine intervention."

Acworth had to contend with a different kind of intervention b from a neighborhood group called the Mission Armory Community Collective, which opposed Kink.com as a potential neighbor. Though careful not to condemn porn per se, the group said it feared that the company's presence in an already troubled neighborhood would introduce more problems. Even the Mayor's Office, potentially bending to pressure, issued the following statement: "While not wanting to be prudish, the fact that kink.com will be located in the proximity to a number of schools give [sic] us pause."

Swingtown:Local swingers think life is a bowl of cherries, but Duncanville wants to spit out the Pit by Mike Fisher The Dallas Observer (TX) September 18, 2008

Horses roam aimlessly in a meadow just around the block. There's a Boy Scout camp about a half-mile away.The green thicket behind the plain, ranch-style house prevents exposure to adjoining homeowners, one of whom waveswarmly at passing motorists as he mows his lawn. In this Duncanville neighborhood, there exists a rural serenitybor at least there used to, before Jim Trulock's home became notorious in North Texas and across America.His house, also known as The Cherry Pit, has grabbed headlines because of what has for years transpired behind its closed doors.

"We're swingers," says Trulock, smiling. "But we're not criminals."

Trulock, 59, and his sweetheart Julie Norris, 30, are avid participants in what swingers refer to as "the lifestyle," and are overseers of this controversial party house where men are urged to make "donations" to defray expenses, women are admitted free, and anything-goes debauchery is the raison d'C*tre. For more than a decade before the police raids and the bad publicity, The Cherry Pit would draw 50 to 100 people each weekend; in the last year alone, it has played host to as many as 7,000 guests.

Trulock contends his slice of this mushrooming subculture is merely a family hangout where First Amendment rights are exercised in the form of saucy games such as "Naked Twister."

"We don't push it on anybody. We don't recruit. We teach people who want to learn," Trulock says. "We're an honest, loving, extended family."

The City of Duncanville, however, is not feeling the love. It sees The Cherry Pit as an illegal and immoral business gobbling up unreported income and sullying the neighborhood. City fathers couldn't have been pleased that The Cherry Pit maintains a Web site that encourages others to come to Duncanville to join the fun: "We are a group of like-minded friends who enjoy living the swinging lifestyle. We party on weekends and enjoy meeting new friends."

In September 2007, acting on a traffic-related complaint from a neighbor, the Duncanville police visited the house but did not arrest Trulock. Instead the city posted "No Parking'' signs in front of his home. On November 6, 2007, the Duncanville City Council enacted an ordinance making it illegal to operate a "sex club" in a residential area. A month later, Trulock received the first of five citations, each alleging three distinct charges: operating an illegal sex club, operating a sexually oriented business without a license and operating a business in a residentially zoned area. All 15 offenses were low-grade Class C misdemeanors, punishable only by fines.

Trulock's lawyers, Ed Klein and Garry Cantrell, wasted no time in attacking the constitutionality of Duncanville's new sex club ordinance, filing a civil rights case in state court alleging that the new law infringed on the free association rights of their client. "These are people who get together because they want to be with each other," Klein says. "It's not a business, there is no president or stockholdersbit doesn't even have registered members."

In May 2008, the city of Duncanville again voiced its disgust with The Cherry Pit. It amended its sex club ordinance, says Klein, in what appeared to be an attempt to cure its constitutional shortcomings.

And things were just beginning to heat up.

Two Duncanville police raids, on July 19 and July 22, led to one arrest as well as the at-gunpoint confiscation of a variety of items inside the house. Based on an informant's tip, police executed search warrants, seizing thousands of dollars in "Fun Money'' (vouchers used like arcade tokens), $815 in real money, volumes of porn and "Cherry Pit business cards.'' (If it has business cards, isn't it a business?) Authorities also seized partygoers' cell phones, one man's Viagra pills and a bag of donation forms. (If the forms say "donation," isn't that what's being solicited?)

During the July 19 search, the Duncanville police allegedly found an assortment of tools of the sex trade: A stripper pole. A bondage room. Unclean mattresses on the floor. Porn. A dance floor. Panties hanging from the ceiling. A hot tub with an unsavory broth.

Police returned the second time to seize alcohol they had found the first time but failed to specify in their earlier warrantb582 bottles of liquor. In the first raid, Norris claims, she received a bruise to her forehead when she attempted to answer the door as the police broke it down with a battering ram.

"We tried to play nice,'' says Duncanville City Manager Kent Cagle, noting that over the last few years, Trulock was visited by the police chief, the fire chief and a city building official. "They spoke to him, [but] he came back with a new, even more defiant attitude.''

Cagle is leading the charge against The Cherry Pit and rattles off his city's well-publicized list of potential allegations against Trulock: Organized criminal activity, prostitution, narcotics trafficking, money laundering. He mentions that a home with a septic system is not equipped to handle a houseful of 100 people and that guests "walk around drunk'' in the front yard.

"It's 95 percent a legal issue,'' he maintains. "If your neighbor was raising pigs in a slaughterhouse next door, or running an auto-repair shop with junkers in the yard next door, they would be in violation. That's what's happening here, and when they claim they are not a business, they are not being honest.''

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About Incident Reporting & Response

The NCSF Incident Reporting & Response (IRR) program provides assistance to individuals and groups within the alternative sexual expression communities who become victimized because of SM, leather, fetish, or swing practices.

Program Goals: NCSF's Incident Reporting & Response was created to provide assistance to individuals and groups within the BDSM, swinging and poly communities who are experiencing discrimination or needs assistance because of their interests and activities.